Authorities have said Gaines and two others attacked Scotty Joe Weaver at his trailer in 2004.

Prosecutors said they beat, strangled and cut the 18-year-old before setting his body afire, and the extent of Weaver's injuries pointed to the attackers' distaste for his sexual orientation.

Gaines will not testify at the trial set to start May 7, but jurors will watch a video recording of his confession, defense attorney J. Clark Stankoski said. Lawyers have not said whether Gaines will testify against his two co-defendants, Robert Porter and Nichole Kelsay, who are scheduled to be tried separately later this year.

The slaying drew interest from gay rights groups, and hundreds of mourners attended a vigil for Weaver in Mobile after the killing. Anti-gay groups picketed outside the Crossroads Church of God, where Weaver's funeral was held.

"I do believe fitness is going to be an issue," Wagner said.

Thompson, 28, of Lombard pleaded not guilty to a five-count indictment charging him with first-degree murder.

He is accused of killing his neighbor, 66-year-old James Malone, by throwing him off a balcony in the building where they lived on March 30. Thompson surrendered to authorities that evening after a nearly seven-hour standoff with police.

Thompson was a standout athlete at a suburban Chicago high school and played defensive end at Michigan State.

The New Orleans Saints signed Thompson in 2000. But he was cut before the start of the season after getting into a dispute with a teammate during a workout.

Thompson’s mother, Maggie Ross, has said doctors diagnosed her son with bipolar disorder and that he had stopped taking medication because the drugs made him feel listless and dizzy.

A 19-year-old man took responsibility Monday for being intoxicated and causing a Dec. 30, 2006, wreck that killed three siblings.

Jurors will return to the 347th District Court on Wednesday to decide the punishment of Scott Ryan Helgerson, who pleaded guilty to three counts of intoxication manslaughter and one count of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

Each charge is punishable by as much as 20 years in prison.

Sahar Mostaghasi, 24, and 12-year-old twins Negin and Sepehr Mostaghasi died in the wreck, which happened at Cimarron Boulevard and Brockhampton Street at about 5 a.m.

The siblings died after their vehicle, a 2006 Toyota Corolla, was struck by a 1998 Dodge Caravan driven by Helgerson, according to police.

Their brother, Morteza, 16, was a front-seat passenger in the vehicle.

He was released from a hospital two days after the accident.

Before Helgerson's plea Monday, his attorney, Richard Rogers, asked 347th District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos to recuse herself from the trial on the grounds that she inappropriately had a conversation in her chambers with Albert Huerta, the attorney representing the Mostaghasi family in a civil suit against Helgerson.

The Mostaghasi family is seeking an unspecified amount from Helgerson for damages including medical and funeral expenses and pain and suffering, according to a lawsuit filed by Huerta in January.

Huerta said Monday that the conversation was unrelated to the case.

After later speaking with his client, Rogers withdrew the motion.

Jury selection will begin Wednesday.

He insists he has been put through "mental suffering, inconvenience and discomfort". And because he does not have a car, he says he'll now have to RENT one just to get his clothes cleaned at another store.

According to court papers, Pearson dropped off his trousers on May 3, 2005. But they were not ready when he returned later.

Aweek later, the cleaners came up with grey trousers they said were Pearson's - but he insisted they were not the ones he dropped off.

This week, DC Superior Court judge Neal Kravitz said: "The court has significant concerns that the plaintiff is acting in bad faith because of the breathtaking magnitude of the expansion he seeks."

Lawyer Chris Manning, representing Custom Cleaners' owners Ki, Jin and Soo Chung, said: "They have been abused in a ghastly way. It's going to cost them tens of thousands to defend this case."

The Chung family insist his trousers are still at the store, waiting to be collected.

Project Honey Pot has collected thousands of Internet addresses that it has linked to spam harvesters, but it so far has been unable to link those addresses to an actual person.

The lawsuit names a variety of John Does as defendants, and the plaintiffs hope that the legal process will allow them to track the actual people who are harvesting the e-mail addresses, said lead attorney Jon Praed with the Arlington-based Internet Law Group.

Collecting e-mail addresses is not by itself illegal, but Praed said the plaintiffs will be able to link the harvesting to spam e-mails, which are illegal under federal and state laws. Those laws allow individuals who receive unwanted spam to seek civil damages.

Praed said legitimate businesses are afraid to post e-mail addresses on their Web sites for fear that automated Web crawlers will find the addresses, record them and sell them to spammers who will inundate them with junk e-mail.

"Lawyer advertising, because of its sheer volume, touches virtually everyone in Nevada and influences the public's perception about attorneys in general," said Chief Justice William Maupin.

One new rule prohibits lawyers from making claims that create an unjustified expectation about the outcome of a case. If a law firm advertises that it has obtained certain verdicts, for example, it must be able to provide proof.

Another reform requires that ads promoting a fee arrangement must advertise the entire arrangement. Justice Hardesty noted that one law firm advertised a low-percentage contingency fee, but didn't say the fee escalated if the case was not resolved in 30 days.

What will no longer be regulated is whether or not an ad is in bad taste.

"Taste is something we cannot govern without infringing on First Amendment rights," said Hardesty. "So restrictions on taste will be eliminated, but the new rules will make sure the content is not false or misleading."

Under the new rules, taking effect Sept. 1, lawyers must submit their ads to the State Bar for review within 15 days after publication or broadcast. If an ad is deemed to be inaccurate or misleading, it must be pulled. Attorneys can submit ads in advance for an advisory determination.

Because advertisements generally don't reveal a lawyer's background, attorneys also must provide their resumes to clients who request them.

An antiques dealer from Blue Bell and the former director of a whaling museum pleaded guilty yesterday to charges they illegally imported hundreds of sperm whale teeth from England and sold them to U.S. merchants who specialize in scrimshaw.

Martin Schneider, 60, got the teeth of the endangered whale in Britain and smuggled them into the country by hiding them among other goods he was importing. Prosecutors said he sold more than $500,000 worth of teeth from 1995 to 2005.

Lewis Eisenberg, 61, the former director of the Whalers Village Museum in Lahaina, Hawaii, bought teeth and resold them to collectors, many of whom trade in scrimshaw, an art form in which designs are etched into whale bone. Eisenberg, of Oak Harbor, Wash., sold teeth he got from Schneider for more than $45,000.

Both men pleaded guilty to violations of the Endangered Species Act, the Mammal Protection Act and the Lacey Act, which forbids the import or export of wildlife that is illegally transported or sold.

Acting on a tip, federal agents bought two whale teeth from Schneider in March 2005 for $2,100. Customs agents at Philadelphia International Airport later intercepted a package of his that contained eight more teeth, authorities said.

Investigators found records at his home showing he had sold $540,000 worth of teeth over 10 years.

Schneider's attorney, Gerald Stein, said his client believed the teeth came from whales that were killed by Russian fishermen before the implementation of the Endangered Species Act.

"He thought that these teeth were acquired at a time when it was legal to acquire them," Stein said.

Under federal guidelines, prosecutors said Schneider will likely get 30 to 37 months in prison, while Eisenberg is likely to get 10 to 16 months. Both face thousands of dollars in fines.

Authorities said the arrests came as part of a nationwide investigation, which has led to one other conviction in Hawaii. But many collectors who bought teeth have not been located.